Official Answer Key & Detailed Solution
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Correct Answer: Option (B) — 1 and 3 only
Concept & Option Breakdown
Standard Reference VerifiedStatement 1 is correct: India's Look East Policy, initiated in 1991 by the Narasimha Rao government, aimed at establishing India as a significant economic and strategic partner in East and Southeast Asia. Statement 2 is incorrect: The policy was not designed to plug a power vacuum created by the Cold War; rather, it was an economic and strategic integration strategy to find new trading partners following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Statement 3 is correct: The policy actively leveraged historical, cultural, and religious (Buddhist/Hindu) connections to deepen diplomatic ties.
Statement 2 asserts an aggressive geopolitical motive ('plug the vacuum') which contradicts India's non-expansionist and cooperative foreign policy stance.
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